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History

La Plaine is the main village on the south east coast. It sits on the wide gently sloping outflow of a major proclastic flow from volcanoes in the Grand Soufriere Hills behind the village that ends in cliffs along the coast. The Caribs knew the area as Koulirou and there were other Carib names such as Sari-Sari and Taboui (Taberi) that still exist. Remains of a pre-Columbian settlement are located between the Sari-Sari River and Case O'Gowery.
The first French settlers called it La Plaine because of the wide area of unusually flat land on the steep and rugged Windward Coast. Because it faced the constant Trade Winds the area was known as Au Vent and the people who lived there as "gen au vent". The landing place for boats was the precarious Plaisance Bay and some cargo was shipped from the dangerous Bout Sable Bay. The main neighbouring estates were Quanari, Tabery, Felicite and Plaisance, although there were several smallholders in between. For a time the Roman Catholic church owned a large portion of La Plaine which it later subdivided. In 1893 the village was the scene of the land tax riots, when British marines and local police landed from the war ship HMS Mohawk and attempted to evict persons who had not paid their land tax. Four persons died in the ensuing resistance. Until 1963 access to Roseau was via canoe or mountain track by way of the "Chemin L'Etang" past the Freshwater Lake or a longer route by way of Delices. In 1963 the motorable road reached La Plaine amidst great celebration.
Courtesy of Dr. Lennox Honychurch, www.LennoxHonychurch.com